Latest 007 book - Double or Nothing by Kim Sherwood
Discussion
Bit of a Bond fan so have read all the books. This one isn't directly about Bond, but about his world, he's gone missing and the story is about the other Double O agents (with 007 getting referenced occasionally).
About a third of the way in and it's somehow very well written but plodding at the same time. It's almost like everything is so over-described that it slows the story down. I'll persevere though.
About a third of the way in and it's somehow very well written but plodding at the same time. It's almost like everything is so over-described that it slows the story down. I'll persevere though.
Ari said:
Finally finished it. It's written by a woman who is a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. It rather feels like she was on a mission to show everyone what a clever and brilliant writer she is, and along the way forgot to create something readable.
Agree 100%I've been listening to the audiobook version which is well read, but the story progression is oh so slow...
I’ve got to Chapter 9 and put it down.
There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Ozzie Dave said:
It seems to jump heavily and the things that annoying me is the details she goes into on some items and brands- its almost like a whos who of brand placement for expensive brands that no-one has any interest in.
Ian Fleming frequently dropped brand details into his books, but he did it with more a sense that it was attention to detail. It feels like she's attempting to 'write like Fleming', and missing the point. Mezzanine said:
I’ve got to Chapter 9 and put it down.
There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Agreed. And this from a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Remarkable. There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Ari said:
Mezzanine said:
I’ve got to Chapter 9 and put it down.
There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Agreed. And this from a Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. Remarkable. There is no sense of emotion behind the writing, more like they have input key elements of a ‘Bond’ book into a computer and then asked it output a story with some modern day filters applied to the data.
I thought the writing was pretty bad which is a major turn off.
I doubt I will pick it up again.
Just dropped "opening paragraph of a modern day Bond book" into chatgpt and got
The sun rises over the desolate Ukrainian countryside as James Bond drives his Aston Martin towards the war-torn city of Kiev. The Russian invasion has left the once-vibrant streets in ruins, and the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike litter the sidewalks.
Bond has been sent to the region by MI6 to investigate reports of a dangerous new weapon that could tip the scales of the conflict and change the course of the war. With a license to kill and the support of his trusted colleagues, Bond is determined to stop the weapon from falling into the wrong hands and restore peace to the troubled land.
which isn't notably worse than the creative writing class.
The sun rises over the desolate Ukrainian countryside as James Bond drives his Aston Martin towards the war-torn city of Kiev. The Russian invasion has left the once-vibrant streets in ruins, and the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike litter the sidewalks.
Bond has been sent to the region by MI6 to investigate reports of a dangerous new weapon that could tip the scales of the conflict and change the course of the war. With a license to kill and the support of his trusted colleagues, Bond is determined to stop the weapon from falling into the wrong hands and restore peace to the troubled land.
which isn't notably worse than the creative writing class.
Newc said:
Just dropped "opening paragraph of a modern day Bond book" into chatgpt and got
The sun rises over the desolate Ukrainian countryside as James Bond drives his Aston Martin towards the war-torn city of Kiev. The Russian invasion has left the once-vibrant streets in ruins, and the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike litter the sidewalks.
Bond has been sent to the region by MI6 to investigate reports of a dangerous new weapon that could tip the scales of the conflict and change the course of the war. With a license to kill and the support of his trusted colleagues, Bond is determined to stop the weapon from falling into the wrong hands and restore peace to the troubled land.
which isn't notably worse than the creative writing class.
And your point in this thread?The sun rises over the desolate Ukrainian countryside as James Bond drives his Aston Martin towards the war-torn city of Kiev. The Russian invasion has left the once-vibrant streets in ruins, and the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike litter the sidewalks.
Bond has been sent to the region by MI6 to investigate reports of a dangerous new weapon that could tip the scales of the conflict and change the course of the war. With a license to kill and the support of his trusted colleagues, Bond is determined to stop the weapon from falling into the wrong hands and restore peace to the troubled land.
which isn't notably worse than the creative writing class.
The other failing of the book was in the utter implausibility of some of it. Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate that the limits of credibility are frequently stretched in Bond books and films, but I'm talking about stuff that simply didn't make sense.
A perfect example is a person being passed from one car to another at 70mph+ on a dual carriageway to fox pursuers. The way it was described, the cars were virtually touching, but the doors were open to facilitate the pass across. It was a bit like the author had never seen, let alone been in, a car.
Mind you, John Gardner was no stranger to such nonsense. I remember him describing how Bond made a standard speedboat go underwater or some such thing just by the way the throttle was manipulated. (Yes I know, the jet boat in TWINE, but that was a Q invention that had been fitted with the facility to dive).
A perfect example is a person being passed from one car to another at 70mph+ on a dual carriageway to fox pursuers. The way it was described, the cars were virtually touching, but the doors were open to facilitate the pass across. It was a bit like the author had never seen, let alone been in, a car.
Mind you, John Gardner was no stranger to such nonsense. I remember him describing how Bond made a standard speedboat go underwater or some such thing just by the way the throttle was manipulated. (Yes I know, the jet boat in TWINE, but that was a Q invention that had been fitted with the facility to dive).
Mr.Chips said:
Yes, I have read the Horowitz books, I enjoyed them. I have read most/all of the Bond books from Fleming, Gardner, Benson, Horowitz, Faulkes, Deaver et al and have enjoyed most of them. The only Bond book I really wasn’t keen on was Colonel Sun.
Same here, I remember the excitement back in the late 80s when I finally sourced a copy of Colonel Sun - I was so disappointed when I read it!I enjoyed most of Gardner's continuation novels but for me Deaver's is the best, in fact I think it might be the best Bond book written full stop.
I've not read Double or Nothing but from the reviews on this thread I'm not too worried by that!
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